In a recent statement to AS, James Rodriguez’s agent Jorge Mendes has seemingly ruled out a January exit for the Colombia international. Rodriguez, who hasn’t had the best of times at Real Madrid, has been linked with a host of top sides including Chelsea and Manchester United. As reported by Goal: “James Rodriguez will not leave
Barcelona vs Real Madrid is arguably the biggest club game in world football. On average, there is almost 800 million people who watch the match each year. It truly is the game that brings the most talented individuals onto one playing field. So who will come out trumps in 2016? Madrid are certainly the form
It’s hard to believe that Cristiano Ronaldo turns 32 in three months: it’s even harder to believe that he is on the same fine scoring form he was six years ago- if not better. The forward found the back of the net twice as a jaded Real Madrid side narrowly won 2-1 against bottom placed
According to the Daily Express, Real Madrid are keeping an eye on Manchester United starlet Marcus Rashford. As reported by the Daily Express’ Bruce Archer: “Rashford broke into the Manchester United team last season and has progressed into a full England international. He’s scored three Premier League goals this season in eight appearances under Jose
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It is always better to work out weaknesses before being presented with an opponent who can exploit them. Last Wednesday night Sergio Busquet’s rather maligned start to the season was fully exposed by Pep Guardiola, the manager who first put him in Barcelona’s first team eight years ago, and
Yannick Carrasco has penned a contract extension that will see him ply his trade for Atletico Madrid until 2022, the club revealed on Friday. The agreement comes following prolonged weeks of negotiations, after the 23-year old established himself as an integral team player in Diego Simeone’s side. The announcement comes as a breath of fresh
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. With great power comes great responsibility as Stan Lee famously penned in one of his many Spiderman comics. Being the head coach of Real Madrid, one of the most influential, powerful and successful sides in world football, Zinedine Zidane is learning that this quote is undeniably true. Less than
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It is always difficult moving to a club that has just won everything there is possible to win. When you also throw in the fact that your new club is serving a transfer ban which will mean that you cannot play for the club for the first six months
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. In two months’ time, Diego Simeone will celebrate his fifth anniversary as Atletico Madrid coach. In that time, he has established them as a force both domestically and in Europe with his cleverly organised defence and intense physical game. However, just as it seems we are adjusting to his
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It has been a strange start to the season for Real Madrid. After five straight wins, four domestically and one in Europe, the club have contrived to draw their last two games against, on paper anyway, inferior opposition. Whilst much of the attention in Spain has revolved around Cristiano
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. Johan Cruyff famously told Pep Guardiola that ‘the second season is harder than the first season and the third season is harder than the second season.’ As Luis Enrique embarks on his third season at Barcelona the summer additions to the squad along with early team selections suggest that
There is something about adversity that makes certain people thrive. With the news last week that Atletico Madrid would be unable to sign any new players during the next two transfer windows the club face an uncertain year ahead. However, with their head coach Diego Simeone never afraid of confronting a challenge head on it
Player power has become a modern buzzword in football. With the huge sums of money involved in the game anyone in demand has the power to command the highest fee they possibly can. With Real Madrid looking to sign Gareth Bale to a new long term contract this exact thing is being played out at
The debut installment of a new column about everything related to the two elite Madrid sides and FC Barcelona titled, “The Madrid-Barca Axis”, by O-Posts veteran and La Liga expert Andy Hunter. Whilst the English press clamour over Joe Hart’s future at Manchester City, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s has finally been resolved at Barcelona. Following a
It’s probably fair to say that Jese Rodriguez’s move from Real Madrid to PSG caught a few people by surprise. The 23 year old has been on the fringes of the first team for a while now at the Santiago Bernabeu, so it’s not a great shock that he has finally moved on but the
One thing we know about Antonio Conte is that he loves centre-backs, with the new Chelsea boss regularly employing three during his time in charge of both Juventus and Italy. Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez is one of the best young players around in this position and the 21-year-old is a target for the Blues if
Days after confirming interest from the Liga BBVA, Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas verified on July 1 that he had reached an agreement with Barcelona over the sale of highly-coveted defender, Samuel Umtiti. He is Barcelona’s second signing of what should be a quiet summer for the club. Background In the wake of Marc
Dani Alves will leave Barcelona this summer after a successful eight year stay at Camp Nou with Juventus looking to be his likely destination although the deal has yet to be completed. The Brazilian has won no less than 23 trophies during his time in Catalonia, but has clearly come to the decision that a
Goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, Villarreal There haven’t been many stand-out goalkeepers in La Liga this season with Keylor Navas perhaps still the best of the bunch. However Villarreal’s Alphonse Areola has had a very solid campaign that has suggested he could return to parent club PSG and compete for the number one jersey with the French
The news broke late last week just before the Taça da Liga final that Nicolas Gaitan was close to joining Atletico Madrid. Rumours of his departure are nothing new. The Argentinian attacker had been linked with several clubs in the past but a move never materialized. But after Gaitan was subbed in the late stages
Barcelona had to wait four months for Luis Suarez, the suspension for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup not dissuading the Catalans from forking out £65 million amid the doubt and mistrust borne from his long list of previous. Having signed him in July, Barcelona waited until October for the Uruguayan to make
Manchester United look likely to be in the market for a central defender this summer and one man widely linked with a move to Old Trafford is Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi. The German has made great strides since his last spell in England and could be the ideal option to bolster United’s defence. The Red Devils
While his ego and occasional outburst at team-mates may frustrate followers of Real Madrid, their continued reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo to dig them out of holes and lead their bids for silverware has been strikingly apparent for several years now, almost to the point where you felt any prolonged absence for the Portuguese winger could
It has been a fine season for Filipe Luis back at the Vicente Calderon after a tough campaign in England. He has once again demonstrated why he is up there with the best left-backs in the world game and certainly this season you’d struggle to find a more consistent performer in that position. Having helped
Since the rise to dominance of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona, the club has not endured a fortnight as torrid as the one they have just gone through. Dreams of a repeat of last season’s treble have gone up in smoke courtesy of a Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid while three straight league defeats have blown